Trial and Error
by killertie424
Summary: We all know Jaune Arc fails at pretty much everything. But what if he doesn't have to? During initiation, he discovers his semblance. A semblance which might just be the best power in history. Time travel… sort of. "Essentially, it's a reset button."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! I was just writing random junk when this idea came up. I hope you like it. Pairings are still undecided but it will not be a harem fic. Anyway, enjoy…**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Reset #1**

Faint glows of red and white illuminate the shaded woods of the emerald forest as a feminine voice begins to say,

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death."

The lights grow brighter still as a great power fights for release.

"I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

With a flash of white, the lights slowly fade. Red receding first then the brilliant white following in suit. A powerful Aura had been released, as well as a semblance to put all others to shame.

* * *

Pyrrha pulls away and falls to her knees in exhaustion as Jaune stands tall. His aura still radiates from his body, soon, he can see the glow of protection begin to fade. But the rush of power still runs through his veins like galloping stallions. Jaune then looks to his companion and is immediately shaken out of his pride.

"Pyrrha!"

Jaune quickly kneels down to her level and examines her weakened state.

"Pyrrha, are you okay?"

"I'm alright, I used my aura to unlock yours. You must be strong, it took a lot of my energy to free your aura." She states, slightly out of breath.

A small frown fell upon the knight. Why did he have to mess up already?

"I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"No, it's okay, I am alright." She quickly returned with a soft smile, reassuring the blonde that she was, on all accounts, fine.

Jaune's lips slightly curve up at her words until a full grin sprouted.

"Here," He says as he slings an arm around her shoulder and helps the spartan to her feet. Pyrrha's cheeks are tinged a slight red at the close contact but smiles warmly all the same.

"Thanks and, just so you know, the energy that protects you now is your… own…"

She pauses and eyes something on his face. What, was there a bug? Pyrrha unhooks her bronze shield from her back and presents it in front of Jaune. The polished metal reflects his face perfectly and he watches as the scratch on his face seal up with ease, leaving only a faint trail of blood and the glow of raw potential.

"And it would seem you have a lot of it." She finishes with a broad grin.

Jaune looks at his healed cheek and touches the faint blood where the cut used to be. It was amazing, if only he had unlocked his aura sooner. Jaune smiled at the memory, then he would have been spared of the fire incident when he was nine.

"Woah…" Is all the knight can say as the final glow wears off.

Pyrrha giggles at his fascination as she puts away her shield.

"Come on Jaune, we have yet to find our relic."

Before he knew it, a feminine hand had grabbed his own. Pyrrha trudged further into the emerald forest with a blushing knight in tow.

* * *

Jaune hadn't a clue what he was doing. He had seen a dark and shady cave, and just like every other curious teen, he decided to trek into the beast.

Great.

Despite some protest, he had convinced Pyrrha to come along too.

Yay! Good Job!

But the best part was he made a torch, a freaking torch. In his book that was quite the accomplishment. So when it had died in a puddle, Jaune was feeling pretty down. But all hope wasn't lost. A glowing object magically appeared, and just like any other teen who jumps to conclusions, he obviously assumed it was the relic.

It wasn't.

Which leads to now. The awoken Death Stalker chasing Pyrrha out of the cave and a screaming Jaune barely holding on to its tail. All in all, things were going pretty smooth… not!

Finally, the lethal scorpion smashed out of the cave bringing about dust and ruble. Pyrrha drew her weapons, shielded her eyes, and took a fighting stance ten paces away from the beast. She began to plan like the battle champion that she was.

It had small eyes, she could spear them and blind it. Tough armor, she couldn't even put a scratch on its hide. The tail…

"HELP!"

It could be cut off.

"WAHHH! WHY! PYRRHA HELP!"

But Jaune is still attached to it, he could be crushed by the limb. That wouldn't do.

"PYRRHA! IT'S NOT THE RELIC! IT'S NOT!"

She grinned in the face of a Death Stalker. Why did he have to be so damn adorable?

"Jaune! Whatever you do, don't let…" She tried to say.

And before either of them could comprehend it, a blonde bullet shot of its tail and went sailing towards the stars.

"…go…"

Pyrrha watched as her partner went soaring. Then she looked back to the Death Stalker, it eyed her up and almost seemed to say,

 _'You better run meat sack.'_

She did.

* * *

It was a nice day, the weather was perfect, and the sky were clear… well… except for a falling object.

Jaune Arc.

He felt the wind rush past him and the world seemed to blur. Jaune felt sick, and it wasn't because of the flying. He was going to die. The fall would surely kill him. No amount of aura can stop you head from being split open as it collides with the earth. But it wasn't even the thought of death, it was all the things he would leave behind.

His parents, he had run away. Leaving his parents with the thought of their son as a dishonorable thief, stealing the family sword and hopping on the next dust plane to Beacon. He had told them of his acceptance to such a prestigious academy, but they had said no. They didn't think he was ready, yet he left anyway. What a shameful blemish on the Arc family he was.

Then his new found friends came to mind. Ruby, Yang, and Pyrrha. Dear Oum Pyrrha, he had just met her. There was still so much to do, so much to see. But he supposed it wasn't so bad. He had hit on an heiress, made friends with a protégée, and gotten his aura unlocked by a pretty girl. Not too bad indeed.

His eyes, watered by the wind, could make out the impending earth. A flash of red caught is attention as well. It zoomed right on past him, missing the knight by inches. He instantly recognized the blur.

Ruby was falling too? Well, at least Yang would catch her or something. No matter what, Ruby would always make it out okay. He smiled at this.

The ground grew closer and he knew his time was up.

Funny enough his last thought was of motion sickness, and how he had been terribly ill throughout the whole ride to Beacon. He remembered every bump and minor turbulence that made the ride all the more horrible. A resigned smile displayed his features as he had his last thought.

 _'Goodbye world, I hope hell isn't as bad as Beacon's dust planes.'_

An image of the past flashed before his eyes and he was gone.

* * *

A familiar voiced tickled his ears as he struggled to open his eyes.

"I don't want to be the bee's knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees!"

That voice was so comforting to his ears that he almost fell back into… wait… why was he asleep? Or was he?

Instantly his eyes shot open. Jaune arc sat ramrod straight on one of the ships benches. He quickly observed his surroundings in a panicked state. He was on a bullhead. The glass gave a view Beacon. Hadn't he already done this? What?

Wait.

He had died. Or did he? Jaune remembered thinking of his ride over to Beacon just before he… No. Obviously he wasn't dead. Then where was he?

Jaune glanced over to a short girl with a red hood and a busty blonde.

Oh… Oum. It wasn't where he was… it was when.

He threw up… again.

* * *

 **A/N: So… what'd you think? Please leave a comment, it's about the only thing that that motivates me to write. Thanks for your time! Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm writing this like, right after I posted the last chapter so… I won't know any suggestions or comment related stuff. Sorry if the last chapter was short, but I wanted to test the waters before diving in. But, I actually really like where this is fic is headed so I really-really-really hope you guys like it.**

 **So I read a couple comments… to, Richard Fern the Dragonmaster, there's a lot of fics with the same concept. The whole 'Jaune gets his semblance' isn't a new idea. Sadly nothing is new anymore. Everything has either been redone, recycled or thought up already. Nothing's original. But I just wanted to say thanks for the review, it helped me write this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Figuring Stuff Out**

Jaune stumbled out of the bullhead and fell to his knees upon Beacon's docks. So many questions jumbled through his brain. Why was here again? How was he here?

He soon slumped over and lay on his back staring at the sky. It was unsettling, in a way he couldn't describe. He had been hurtling through the clouds just moments before. Now he was here, at Beacon, a whole day ago. His mind could only pop out three letters.

 _'_ _W… T… F…'_

Jaune stared up at the blue expanse until he heard a familiar explosion. He sat up looked on a similar sight. Weiss was currently being told off by that girl with the black bow. Who was she again? He guessed he hadn't really talked to her in his first time here, or whatever that was. Maybe the past twenty-four hours was a dream, and this was reality. He had 'awoken' on a bench. It could have been his imagination. Or maybe… no. It couldn't have been a dream. How would he have known Ruby, Weiss, Yang and… that girl in black? And how would his dream play this close to reality?

OH! What if he can see the future?

No, that's stupid… There has to be an explanation for all of this.

Jaune looked back towards Ruby, Weiss and… that girl in black. Well, minus Weiss and… that girl in black. He sighed, he really needed to learn her name.

Ruby, just as before, fell over and lay in the crater of her own making.

Never mind what's going on with him. Jaune could have been on drugs for all he cared, but Ruby was sad. And he would be damned if he let his first friend be in such a state.

Jaune walked up to the fallen reaper. Just as he was about to offer his hand like he did before, he noticed something about her.

 _'_ _Cute.'_

Before his mind could comprehend what he had thought, her eyes opened. He froze.

"Um… hello?" She said meekly, looking up at him.

Jaune's brain turned to mush, this isn't how it's supposed to go.

"Hi." He whispered.

She whispered back, "Why are you just standing over me, it's kinda creepy?"

The mush tried to form a coherent sentence but all he got was an undignified,

"Uhhh…"

A confused look spread across her face. He couldn't blame her, what the hell was he doing? But despite his "creepy" actions, she stood up in a blur and offered her hand.

"It doesn't matter. I'm Ruby. I was told to make friends by my sister. What's your name?" She said with a cheery smile.

This is definitely not how it happened before. He stuck out his hand tentatively.

"J-Jaune Arc," he managed, shaking her hand, "Nice to… m-m-meet you, R-Ruby."

As if she hadn't noticed is extreme nervousness she shook back with enthusiasm.

"Nice to meet you Jaune. Hey… aren't you that guy that threw up on the ship?"

A small smile graced his lips and he relaxed a little. At least that stayed the same.

* * *

Jaune had kept his conversation with Ruby relatively the same. She had called him Vomit Boy and he had called her Crater Face. It was going pretty smooth.

"So… I got this thing."

Ruby pulled out her precious crescent rose and unfolded it until was in its full form. But this time, he didn't get startled. Jaune was expecting the large weapon of doom. He watched with amusement as she noted his lack of surprise.

"What, is my baby not cool enough for you?" She asked teasingly.

But, Jaune was Jaune, so he took it quite literally.

"No! It's really cool! Better than what I have." He stammered out, "Mine isn't even a gun!"

That's when he realized his slip. Ruby hadn't told him it was a sniper rifle yet. A fevered panic spread throughout his mind.

But, Ruby was Ruby, and little things such as, information-that-doesn't-add-up, goes right by her head. Much to Jaune's relief.

"Relax Vomit Boy, I was only teasing." She explained. "Friends do that."

Jaune, still shaken up, and relieved, could only say, "Yeah… all the time."

"Anyway, what do you have?" She asked.

Jaune thought about his response, he could just do the whole "it's a classic" routine, or, he could try something new.

"Oh you'll find out. When we go through initiation, you, Ruby Rose, will get to see my grimm slaughtering weapons of doom!" He says playfully.

She giggles at his ridiculousness.

And before he could stop himself, it happened again.

 _'_ _Cute.'_

But, before he even realized his thoughts again, Ruby pointed at his… lower areas.

Jaune quickly looked to what she was pointing at and was relieved to find out it was only Crocea Mors. Whew, bullet dodged. Yang would have killed him.

"But isn't that just a sword?" She asked, eyebrow raised.

"No." He whispered.

Jaune beckoned her closer, as if to tell her a secret.

She complied.

"It's actually…" he paused, "a puppy."

She pulled away and had a face of mock hurt and anger.

 _'_ _Cute.'_

Jaune began to laugh at her expression, forgetting his earlier thought.

"It's not funny, I thought it was gonna be cool. You got me all excited!" She lamented.

Jaune knew she was a weapons nut, which just made it all the funnier. He continued laughing, guffaws soon taking over. As he wiped the funny tears from his eyes, he felt two arms push him. Naturally, he did the only thing he could.

Grab on to the arms.

Jaune and Ruby fell to the ground, the small reaper straddling him.

There was a deathly silence, both silver and blue eyes met in a tandem of extreme awkwardness. A heavy blush rose to his cheeks as Ruby sat atop him. Ruby wore the same surprised face as her cheeks matched the color of her cloak.

 _'_ _Cute.'_

Jaune began to panic. What if Yang saw? From his brief experience of meeting the brawler he could tell she was fiercely protective of Ruby. And he had no intention of becoming a bloody smear on the floor.

"Not a word to Yang okay? This never happened." He whispered.

Ruby nodded as she leapt off him. Jaune got to his feet as well and the awkward silence continued for far too long.

"Wait… how do you know my sister's name?" Ruby asked.

 _'_ _Shit.'_

He had to think fast, what sounded liable and totally true.

"Uh… I overheard her name on the dust plane." He said with a slight wince.

"Oh, okay." Ruby accepted with a smile.

Jaune let out a breath he didn't realize he was even holding. Thank Oum Ruby was so trusting.

 _'_ _Man… that was close. I wish that never happened.'_

Jaune thought back to when he was laughing, if only he had evaded Ruby's little shove.

An image of the past flashed.

* * *

"It's not funny, I thought it was gonna be cool. You got me all excited!" She lamented.

Jaune's heard it before he saw it. He was laughing, why was he was laughing? His eyes shot open. Something was wrong.

Wait… Ruby had already said that.

Jaune looked at his surroundings. He and Ruby were a few paces back from when they fell. What did this mean? Jaune tried to put the pieces together.

 _'_ _If Ruby just said that, then… wait… that means…'_

Jaune quickly strafed right and barley dodged Ruby's push.

The reaper looked in surprise as the knight nimbly escaped her. A grin replaced her shock.

"You're a lot faster than you look Vomit Boy." She stated playfully.

Jaune, still wired and confused, could only nod with a half-smile.

How had he done that? What's happening to him? Is he going crazy, imagining different universes with different outcomes? What's wrong with him?

Ruby noticed his distress.

"Are you okay Jaune? I was only messing around with the push." She said apologetically.

Shakily he replied, "No it's okay Ruby, it's not that. Just… uh… never mind."

"Oh, okay then."

They continued in a comfortable silence. Ruby thought Jaune was cool and that the silence wasn't at all bad. Jaune, on the other hand, was a chaotic ball of thoughts and ideas.

 _'_ _Okay… after Ruby and I fell over, I wished for that to never have happened. Is this my semblance? I never considered my semblance. I always thought that it would take years to unlock. I guess not. So is my semblance like wish based?'_

 _'_ _I wish for a unicorn!'_

 _'_ _Nothing, okay. Not wish based. Okay, so when I was falling in style, I was thinking of my ride over to Beacon. And then I was on the dust plane. Is that it? Is it memory?'_

Jaune was about to test this theory when Ruby asked, "Do you know where we're going?"

"Huh… uh no I was foll-"

 _'_ _Wait… I was here before. I know the way.'_

"Actually, yeah, I do. It's this way." Jaune said.

The knight and Reaper turned around and headed towards the large assembly of future students.

 _'_ _Huh… that was handy.'_

* * *

Ozpins speech had been the same, word for word if he wasn't mistaken. And he still got the same weird vibe of the man, sometimes Ozpin can just be creepy.

And just like last time, he was labeled, 'tall, blonde, and scraggly.'

At least Weiss hadn't changed.

Jaune, currently, was changing into his blue bunny onesie. He left the men's locker room and walked through the aisles of half-naked buff guys flexing to prove their masculinity.

 _'_ _What a bunch of…'_

Before he could finish his train of thought, a certain blonde girl made a face at him. Jaune normally didn't care what anyone else thought, but the way Yang looked at him made him suddenly feel really self-conscious. But that wasn't all, he started to notice all the girls, save Ruby, snickering and pointing at him.

His cheeks burned red and he trudged to his sleeping bag. As soon as he got in to his cocoon of warmth he began to think.

 _'_ _I think it's time to put my earlier theory to the test.'_

Jaune concentrated on when he was in the locker room changing. Specifically when he was taking off his armor.

An image of the past flashed.

* * *

Jaune opened his groggy eyes as he took in his surroundings. He was in the locker room, with his chest plate half undone. A giant smile plastered his face.

He opened the locker in front of him to see the blue onesie still there, untouched.

Jaune stripped off his armor and put the items in his locker. This left him in a grey t-shirt and plaid boxers. It wasn't modest, in his opinion, but it was better than the onesie.

He walked out of the locker room and into the ballroom with all the other students. This time Yang's eyes passed right over him, and so did the rest of the female population's.

Jaune opened his sleeping bag and climbed in for a nice rest. Tomorrow was initiation and he'd need his sleep if he was going to do it again. Jaune grinned like a madman as he drifted off to sleep.

 _'_ _This was going to be a fun year.'_

* * *

 **A/N: Jaune has one kick ass semblance. So, if you couldn't tell, Jaune's semblance is like a gateway to his own personal time line. If he can remember it, then he can relive it, with the world around him none the wiser. Pretty cool huh? And yes, this goes for both past and future, but he doesn't know that yet. Theoretically, he could go back to the time stream when he was falling to his death, but… I doubt he would want to.**

 **But the cap on his ability is, he doesn't know the future, he has to live through it one time where he has no clue what's going to happen. So he can still die, he would just have to die quickly so he can't think of a memory.**

 **This can be used tactically too, like in combat, but it's Jaune. No matter how many times you do something, if you suck… you still suck.**

 **Though… it might help him in the ladies department. Screw confidence! Use your semblance!**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading! And do please comment, I'd like to know your opinions on my story. Until the next chapter, Goodbye.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sup everyone! I'd first like to say, wow, a lot of you actually like this story. And I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read my fic.**

 **Okay, the second thing is, I'd like to clear up on who Jaune will end up with. That whole thing with Ruby was just his mind telling him what he hadn't perceived the first time around. So this doesn't mean he'll end up with the reaper, it's all up in the air frankly. I haven't even shown the interactions with the other girls yet.**

 **And third, I'm calling the neutral locker room with all their weapons the armory because I messed up in adding a gender tag to the locker rooms.**

 **Other than that, that is all. Enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Initiation, take two (Part 1)**

Jaune was sitting down at one of Beacon's many tables as he eat his breakfast. The early meal consisted of pancakes, pancakes and pancakes. Did he mention pancakes?

It was odd, for a battle school, the food wasn't all too healthy. Maybe it was just for the initiates, like a small good luck before they'd be launched off into the forest.

But he wasn't supposed to know that yet. A smile crept across his face as he acquiesced to a bite of his delicious breakfast. It was a good thing he did know that then, maybe he could actually come up with a viable landing strategy.

As much as he liked Pyrrha, Jaune didn't exactly fancy getting speared to a tree again.

He might not know much about the kinks and works of his awesome semblance, but he was willing to figure them out. Jaune was going to be prepared, he was going to do better. In fact, he already was.

Last time, he had lost track of his locker and wasted the whole morning, skipping breakfast, to look for the damned thing. But this time around, he found the locker easy enough and suited up for battle. This gave him new time to relax before initiation began.

Jaune ate casually, thinking on what he was going to do for his landing strategy. But that's when he noticed it. He had been spacing out, looking down at the table not really thinking of anything. It was then that he had saw the words.

Scratched into the wooden table was a message.

It read, 'Pyr doesn't like fame… treat as equal'

 _'_ _What? Who would carve this? Who is Pyr? Wait… Pyr… Pyrrha. It's Pyrrha! But why doesn't she like her fame? And, isn't she normally treated like an equal, if not better so? But why does this seem to be addressing me?_

"Hey Jaune!"

A familiar voice brought him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to meet the culprit.

Ruby Rose, with a mildly amused Yang in tow, walked up to him. He quickly covered the carving with his plate. For some reason, he didn't want them to see.

"Hi Ruby." He said, a smile forming.

"Jaune, I'd like you to meet my older sister, Yang." Ruby presented, gesturing to the blonde next to her.

The brawler stepped forward and held out a hand.

"Nice to meet you." She said with a lazy smile. "So you're Ruby's friend, huh? I'll have to keep an eye on you."

"Thanks?" He said shaking her hand cautiously.

"Yang! Don't scare him off!" The reaper cried, "Anyway, do you mind if we sit with you?"

Jaune looked at all the empty seats around him.

"Not at all."

Both sisters took their seats across from the knight, Ruby sitting directly across from him and the brawler on the seat next to her. They eat in relative silence, making small talk when the silence became unbearable.

Jaune thought Yang was fun. He hadn't really interacted with her much the first time around. But now that he was sitting down with her, he couldn't help but notice all the looks she kept giving him. They weren't in any way positive, but neither negative. Just odd looks from across the table. It almost seemed to him as if she was weary of his presence, like he was going to do something and she'd have to fight him. It was unnerving.

He supposed he'd have to earn her trust.

"So Jaune, how'd you meet Ruby?" Yang questioned, undertones of hostility radiating slyly.

Of course Ruby was none the wiser, she was just so trusting.

"I… uh, well…" He stammered.

Now that he thought of it, he had just been standing over her. Like a weirdo. How was he supposed to explain that to Yang without her maiming him? Dear Oum he was doomed.

"We… uh…" Jaune tried again.

He was going to die.

"Oh, I had fallen over, and Jaune was kind enough to give me a hand." Ruby interrupted.

Yang looked from Ruby to Jaune, a look of interest now within her eyes.

"Is that so?" The brawler asked.

Jaune looked to Ruby with confusion but nodded all the same. He liked all his organs intact thank you very much.

"Well Vomit Boy, it seems I must thank you for looking after my dear Ruby." Yang commended with a soft smile, the weariness fading away.

Jaune let loose an exhale, ignoring his nickname. Yang seemed to be genuinely happy with his previous actions. At least he wasn't being beaten to a pulp right now.

But why had Ruby lied? Of course he had actually helped the poor girl after Weiss' berating the first time, but this go around he had only stood there like a creep.

It didn't matter now, he'd ask her later.

"It was no problem, all I saw was a girl who needed some help."

Technically, it was true.

Yang nodded her appreciation and gave him a warm smile.

Jaune returned the gesture and looked down to his empty plate. He soon noticed the barren plates of the two sisters. He collected all the plates and set them down on one of the many dirty dishes carts that populated the dining hall. He returned to the two girls.

"Quite the gentleman I see." Yang noted.

"I try." He replied as he sat back down.

"I like that in a man."

Jaune froze, a red tinge forming in his cheeks.

"Yang!" Ruby cried.

"What? I was only teasing." Yang said, snickering.

* * *

The trio had soon left the dining hall and left for the armory. They needed to collect their weapons before Initiation started. Jaune strode into the room and followed the reaper and brawler to their lockers.

"What'd you think Initiation's gonna be like?" Ruby asked.

The silver eyed girl pulled out the mecha-shift scythe from her locker and hugged it dearly.

"Fun." Yang answered as she cracked her knuckles, attaching golden bracelets to her wrists.

The brawler reached in and pulled out a couple belts of shotgun ammunition before closing the metal box and turning to the knight.

"What about you Jaune, what do you thinks in store for us?"

Thoughts of his brief experience with the emerald forest flash throughout his mind.

"Uh…"

 _'_ _Landing strategies, getting speared, and large ass scorpions.'_

"Grimm?" He answered hesitantly.

"No duh Vomit Boy, She teased, "But I got a feeling it's gonna be a, _grimm_ time."

As soon as Ruby heard it, she cringed.

But Jaune, on the other hand, did the impossible.

He laughed.

"Oh no…" the reaper whispered.

Yang stopped moving and froze.

Her whole body stood rigid straight. She stared at him, eyes unmoving. Jaune wasn't even sure if she was breathing.

"Uh Yang?" He asked. "Are you okay?"

"Did… did you just…" The brawler stammered.

Jaune was confused.

"Did I just what?"

"Did. You. Just. Laugh. At. My. Pun?" She said in sharp intervals.

"Yes…?"

And before he knew it, two arms wrapped around him and pulled him close. Jaune let out a yelp as Yang glomped him.

"Yang, what are you…"

"Thank you-thank you- thank you- thank you!" The brawler repeated, interrupting him, as she squeezed the knight to her chest.

Jaune felt two very soft things push against his chest as Yang hugged the life out of him. His cheeks burned red as he tried his best to be still.

 _'_ _Don't look down, don't think about them, and don't… do anything.'_

The knight looked past the brawler's shoulder to see Ruby who was unamused.

"Ruby, what's going on?" He whispered, lest he disturb the dragon.

With a soft sigh, the reaper answered, "No one laughs, no one ever laughs."

"What?" He asked, still very confused.

Ruby didn't respond.

"Yang, get off Jaune!" The reaper pleaded.

"No. He laughed at my pun!"

"Do I get a say in this?" Jaune asked.

"NO!" Both girls shouted.

"WILL ALL OF YOU NEANDERTHALS BE QUIET?" A voice screeched.

Ruby, Jaune, and Yang went silent and turned their heads to the furious heiress. Weiss scowled at the three, and looked about ready to murder them.

There was a grave silence, the four hunters/huntresses in training all staring at each other.

"Um, yeah. Sorry. We'll be quieter." Jaune offered.

Weiss merely scoffed haughtily and turned around to talk to… Pyrrha.

A smile wormed its way to his mouth, it was good to see her again.

But then he felt two things shift against him, and he was quickly reminded of his current situation. Jaune sprouted crimson cheeks. Yang still hadn't moved, she clung to the blonde knight as if her life depended on it.

"Uh, Yang. Can you let go?" He whispered.

Reluctantly, she pulled away with a slight blush.

"Yeah, sorry… It's just, no one ever laughs at my puns." She stated sadly.

"Well, I thought it was funny."

"Really?" She asked with honest eyes.

"Yep." He said, popping the p with a caring tone.

The blonde brawler smiled from ear to ear. Someone thought she was funny.

The two blondes stood in a silence, neither comfortable nor awkward. Just, silence. That is, until Ruby decided to speak.

"So… that was a thing."

Jaune let out a couple laughs and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah, it was."

And the silence returned again.

"Excuse me."

Jaune spun around.

There in front of him was a spartan.

 _'_ _Pyrrha.'_

"Hello!" She said calmly. "My name is Pyrrha Nikos."

The champion stood a few feet away and looked hesitant to approach.

"Nice to meet you Pyrrha, I'm Jaune, that's Ruby, and this is Yang." He said, pointing to the two girls as he gave their names.

"Hiya." Ruby waved.

"Sup." Yang said coolly.

After the greetings the spartan looked more at ease.

"So what brings you here Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

"I just wish to apologize for Weiss' behavior," She wore an apologetic smile, "It was rude and unnecessary harsh towards you."

"Don't worry about it. It's fine. Weiss will be Weiss. We're used to it by now." Jaune stated.

Ruby nodded, remembering her explosive encounter with the heiress.

"Thank you, but in truth, I also came here because your company seemed more appealing than that of hers."

"Well, you're welcome to stay." Ruby said welcomingly.

A bright smile appeared on the Spartan's face.

"And if you're lucky, you might even end up on my team." Jaune said jokingly, mirroring his previous conversation.

"Oh really?" Pyrrha asked with a grin, enjoying the banter. "Why is that?"

Before he could respond, an irritated feminine voice said, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

Weiss had overheard the oaf's words and could not believe the disrespect he had shown towards a superior such as Pyrrha Nikos. She would educate the dunce proper!

"Yes, in fact I do." He replied, staring the Schnee down.

"You do?" Yang, Ruby and Pyrrha asked all at once.

Weiss glared at the knight, but Jaune stood his ground. He recalled the titles and achievements Weiss had mentioned the first time he had been here.

"Yeah, she's Pyrrha Nikos, the four time champion of the Mistral Tournament."

"She is?" Yang and Ruby asked simultaneously.

He noticed Pyrrha's head lower and her eyes look away, as if she was resentful of her accomplishments.

 _'_ _Wait… the message on the table. Pyrrha doesn't like her fame. She wants to be treated as equal. Isn't she already? Wait… unless, because of her fame, she isn't treated as equal, no, she's treated above such a term. THAT'S IT! She just wants to be treated as a normal girl!'_

Upon the realization, Jaune quickly added, "But that doesn't matter."

Pyrrha looked up at him, surprised.

"She's just Pyrrha Nikos to me… I haven't seen any great accomplishments myself, other than her being on the cover of every Pumpkin Pete's cereal box. Which is awesome by the way. But my point is, Pyrrha is just Pyrrha. And unless I see otherwise, I won't make any judgments."

He looked back to Pyrrha, a smile decorated her features.

Just as Weiss was about to reply, Glynda Goodwitch's voice came over the intercom, "Calling all first years to Beacon's Cliffside, all first years to initiation."

The heiress huffed and turned to Pyrrha, "If you wish to have a partner that will treat you as you deserve, don't hesitate to seek me out."

She handed Pyrrha a 'Schnee Dust Company' card and walked off to initiation, heels clicking against the floor.

"Bye Snow Angel!" Jaune called out.

Yang and Ruby began to snicker at the ironic pet name. The heiress froze and turned around, a look of cold fury in her eyes.

"What did you just call me?" She questioned.

"Nothing."

"Hmph… peasant." Weiss snarled as she stormed off.

After Weiss had left the armory, Pyrrha turned to the blonde knight.

"Thank you Jaune." She said. "But if I may, how did you know about that I dislike my notoriety."

 _'_ _How did I know, it was because of the mysterious table message. But how did they know I would need that note? And who the hell is they?'_

"Uh… intuition." He lied.

Pyrrha giggled at his uncertainty.

"Well, if that intuition is anything to go off of, you're sure to be a great leader." The spartan complimented.

Jaune felt his cheeks heat up. Him, a leader, preposterous. No way would he be suited to lead a team. He could barely keep track of himself, how was he supposed to do that for three other people?

"Thanks, but I don't think I'd make a very good leader."

 _'_ _After all, I did lead us into a Death Stalker's cave in an alternate future._

"What? No. You'd totally make a great leader Vomit Boy!" Yang chimed in.

"Yeah!" Ruby added.

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow.

"Vomit Boy?"

Jaune let out a groan, "It's a long story. I'll tell you on the way over."

* * *

The four hunter/huntresses in training made their way to the launch pads, talking about silly little nothings. For Jaune, this was an Oumsend (Godsend), it took his mind off the uneasiness of knowing what was coming.

As they entered the Cliffside, Jaune spotted the launch pads and wearily eyed the mechanical beasts. He would never fully trust Ozpin because of this.

"Looks like we will have to pick individual plates." Pyrrha stated. "See you Jaune, Ruby, Yang."

The spartan left, sparing one last glance towards the knight before departing.

"See ya sis!" Yang called. "And I'll see ya too Jaune."

The brawler hopped on to her own plate and looked lively. Yet she couldn't help but look back towards her fellow blonde. He had laughed. And that was more than enough reason for her to be interested.

"Just you me Jaune." Ruby said as she pointed to the last two remaining plates which were placed side by side.

Jaune nodded and stepped on to the mechanical catapult. It clicked under his pressure and sucked in a breath.

"You alright Jaune?" Ruby asked.

"Yep… just fine."

"Okay, well I'll see ya out there."

"Yeah…" He looked out at the long stretch of green. "See ya."

Ozpin gave the instructions for their initiation and determining factor for their partners. Ruby had given protest at that, a loud "what" and the sound of shattered dreams.

Soon, when all notifications and directions had been given he heard the familiar crack as the plates sent its first victim flying.

Jaune looked to his left to see Ruby crossing her fingers and murmuring words. He could only hear the word partner and random sounds that were part of the same word. It was kinda adorable, in a creepy, chanting kind of way.

"Partner… J****… partner… *A***… partner… **U**… partner… ***N*… partner… ****E… partner…" She whispered.

"Ruby?"

 **CRACK!** Victim number two, flying.

"Yeah Jaune?"

"Relax, you'll find a good partner."

 **CRACK!** Victim number Yang, soaring.

"You think so?"

"I know so."

 **CRACK!** Victim number three, flailing.

A smile appeared on the reapers face, "Thanks."

"It's my pleasure."

 **CRACK!** Victim number four, rocketing.

Ruby let out an exhale as she got into a prep stance.

"Bye Jaune!"

 **CRACK!** Victim number Ruby, falling with style.

Jaune prepared his legs for extreme velocity.

' _Okay… landing strategy. I could…'_

 **CRACK!** Victim number Jaune, screwed.

* * *

Jaune watched with morbid fascination as the canopy of trees grew closer. He felt the wind whip through his hair and rush by his ears. It was exciting, and then he remembered the falling part. It wasn't exciting anymore.

Yet still, he wasn't too worried. He hadn't gotten time to think of a landing strategy, but he had a backup plan.

Pyrrha.

Just like last time, the spartan would toss a spear and he would be saved.

All he had to do was wait. So he did.

He waited, and waited.

Jaune felt a pang of doubt as the trees were feet away from him.

It was only until ultimate pain wrapped around his senses that he knew Pyrrha wasn't coming to save his scrawny ass.

Jaune had collided face first into the canopy of trees. He slammed through the branches and leaves as his landing strategy failed. All around him was pain, Jaune couldn't even tell the difference between a tree branch snapping and his own bones.

But suddenly he came to a complete stop. But not as one would hope.

Jaune looked down to find a large portion of a tree limb sticking out of his stomach. His legs dangled uselessly as the branch held him above the ground.

There was no pain, it only felt as though there was a large discomfort in his intestines. But he knew the truth, there were probably none left.

He tied to speak but only found a steady stream of blood as it leaked out of his mouth.

Everything dimmed, lights, sounds, and of course, thought.

Jaune tried to conjure up a viable memory as his consciousness began to slip.

 _'_ _CRACK!'_

An image of the past flashed as everything went dark.

* * *

 **CRACK!**

Jaune's eyes snapped open. Attempt #2

"Bye Jaune!"

 **CRACK!**

 _'_ _Wait… why didn't Pyrrha spear me? What am I doing different that I didn't do before?'_

 **CRACK!**

Jaune felt his whole world tumble as he was sent flying.

Okay, he had at least thirty second before he collided with the trees again. He had to come up with something quick.

Fifteen seconds.

He had a sword and shield, what on Remnant could he do?

Ten seconds.

Wait, he had a sword!

Jaune unsheathed Crocea Mors and just as he was about to touch the canopy, he trust the ancient sword into the flurry of trees. It took a while, but eventually, his sword caught on something and it anchored him to that spot. But unfortunately, he was going too fast. Thus leading to a killer whiplash, which dislocated his right shoulder.

The knight soon fell through the trees and landed on the forest floor with a loud thud and a nasty crack. It was then that he let out a scream of agony as he suffered from a dislocated shoulder and a broken kneecap from the fall. Pain surrounded him, but it only got worse as a large beowulf, attracted by the noise and negative energy that radiated off him, crashed through the bushes.

"Oh Fu-"

* * *

 **CRACK!**

Jaune's eyes snapped open. Attempt #3

"Bye Jaune!"

 **CRACK!**

The knight let out a tired sigh…

 _'_ _Uh… this is going to take a while.'_

* * *

 **A/N: Poor Jaune. Like I said before, no matter how many times you do something, if you suck, you still suck. Anyway, why do you think Pyrrha didn't save our lovable blonde? Who carved the message in the table? I wanna see who gets the right answers. Also, sorry if there are a bunch of grammatical errors, it's like 3:34 am right now and I'm way too tired to care. Okay, well that's it for this chapter. Bye for now!**


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